KUCHING: Malaysia Budget and Business Hotel Association (MyBHA) wants a meeting with the state Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah to provide 'broader and deeper insights' to him so that he would raise these issues to the relevant authorities.
MyBHA national president Dr Sri Ganesh Michiel said the minister could not just brush off some of the issues affecting the hotel industry as "not under his jurisdiction."
Michiel said the hotel industry, already hard hit by the failure to regulate online travel agencies (OTAs) and short-term rental accommodations (STRAs), needs to breathe again for the continuity of their businesses.
Last week, Karim had said the regulation of online travel agencies and short-term rental accommodations (STRAs) is not under his ministry's purview.
Regulating online businesses falls under the purview of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the short-term rental accommodations, in the case of Sarawak, under the state Local Government Ministry.
In requesting for the meeting, Michiel said the hoteliers need to be heard and supported, and the ministry should consider creating specific regulations for the state.
"We wish to emphasise that we have been affected by the failure to regulate the OTAs and STRA's."
Michiel said while MyBHA appreciated the ministry's efforts in organising nearly 200 events yearly, it also has a responsibility to ensure that tourist arrivals fully benefits licensed tourism industry entrepreneurs, rather than STRAs.
STRAs, he added, lacked regulation or licensing, and were hence illegal.
"Such illegal accommodations has become the preferred choice for tourists before selecting a hotel," he said.
With a deeper understanding of what the hoteliers are facing, Karim could and should urge the Sarawak and federal governments to regulate short-term rental accommodations to protect licensed hotel entrepreneurs, Michiel added.
"It it is unfair to allow unlicensed short term rental accommodations to proliferate unchecked, as this will directly impact hotel investor's interest in Sarawak.
"If the threats to the hotel industry are not contained, hotel entrepreneurs will only have two choices: either to close their businesses or to raise their selling prices to ensure business sustainability," he said.